The deal, which is the longest in NHL history, will expire at the end of the 2026-27 season, when Kovalchuk, 27, is 44.

The signing will be officially announced at a 1 o’clock news conference today at Prudential Center. Among those expected to attend are Lamoriello, Kovalchuk, Vanderbeek, coach John MacLean, captain Jamie Langenbrunner, left wing Zach Parise and goaltender Martin Brodeur.

Kovalchuk arguably was the most talented NHL player to become an unrestricted free agent. The Devils understandably are excited to keep him.

“Talent-wise, there’s not too many guys that consistently put up 40 [goals] a year — and he’s scored 50 [twice] — and 90 points,” Parise said. “Those don’t come around very often. So it’s good for us to lock him up.”

“Ilya’s excited to be continuing his career with New Jersey and knows firsthand the team’s dedication and commitment to winning,” Grossman said in a release posted on his agency’s website.

As recently as Friday, it appeared Kovalchuk was headed to Los Angeles. The Kings had dropped out of the bidding twice and came back both times. Kovalchuk visited Los Angeles for two days last week, but the sides could not reach an agreement.

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi reportedly confirmed that his most recent offer was for $80 million over 15 seasons, and he told the Los Angeles Times his team was “not even in the ballpark.”

Kovalchuk also had a reported offer of four years for close to $40 million, including bonuses, from SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, but his preference was to remain in the NHL.

As rumors swirled about Kovalchuk heading elsewhere, the Devils never wavered in their desire to re-sign the two-time 52-goal scorer and their willingness to see the process through to the end. Kovalchuk made his decision Monday, two weeks after Grossman posted on Twitter that a decision would come that day.

“New Jersey remained absolutely steadfast in their interest,” Grossman said in an interview on Toronto’s The FAN 590 (AM). “They were patient. They were understanding. They didn’t change their viewpoint, their position, anything in terms of their approach throughout the entire time. I think Lou, with his college background at Providence College as a recruiter, picked some of the tools out of his bag and he really was able to always call seemingly at the right time, always say the right thing.”

The contract includes a no-movement clause for the first seven seasons, though June 30, 2017. The Devils then have a one-year window to move Kovalchuk until a no-trade clause kicks in July 1, 2018.

The average salary and cap hit is a reasonable $6 million per season – matching Patrik Elias for the highest on the Devils. The deal pays Kovalchuk $95 million over the first 10 seasons – $6 million in each of the first two seasons, followed by five seasons at $11.5 million, one season at $10.5 million, one at $8.5 million and one at $6.5 million. The last six seasons total $3.5 million, including a salary of $550,000 in each of the last five.

That was the Devils’ way of softening the cap hit and leaving some space to sign Parise to a long-term extension later this summer.

“We’ll see,” Parise said. “I’m just more excited that we got Kovy for a long time. [Lamoriello] hasn’t talked to me yet, so I’m not too concerned about it. I’m pretty excited about Kovy coming back.”

The Devils will have to clear approximately $2.5 million in space to get below the $59.4 million cap before the start of 2010-11. That means at least one player – probably more – will have to depart via trade, buyout or waivers.

The Devils would have an opportunity to buy out players after settling the contract of restricted free agent defenseman Mark Fraser, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 30.

Among the candidates to depart is left wing Brian Rolston, who has two years left on a contract that carries a cap hit of $5,062,500 per year. Rolston’s deal has a no-trade clause and a buyout is pointless, because his contract was signed at age 35 or over, meaning his entire salary would count against the cap anyway.